BY IVES GALARCEP
When Malaga’s Eliseu put the ball in the net in the 82nd minute to give Malaga a 2-1 lead over Borussia Dortmund, it looked as though the reigning German champions had given themselves too high a hurdle to overcome in too short an amount of time. They couldn’t dwell on the fact that the goal looked to be offside. No, instead the Germans put the ball down and threw everything they had at the Spanish visitors and delivered a finish for the ages.
Marco Reus pulled Dortmund back in the first minute of stoppage time, then Felipe Santana bundled home a series winner in the second minute of stoppage time to give Borussia Dortmund an improbable 3-2 victory, and quarterfinal series triumph over Malaga.
Dortmund’s dramatic comeback came on the same day Galatasaray tried valiantly to pull off their own comeback against Real Madrid, but the early goal they surrendered to Real Madrid made things too difficult, even after rattling off three straight goals to pull within two goals of a series win. Cristiano Ronaldo scored his second goal of the match in the dying moments to secure a semifinal place for Real Madrid.
The Malaga upset looked very possible in the early going after Joaquin opened the scoring with a left-footed blast to make the score 1-0 in the first half. Dortmund equalized through Lewandowski after a beautiful passing sequence, but the German club’s semifinal hopes looked doomed when Julio Batista sent a shot past Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller. Eliseu latched onto the shot, redirecting it him from what appeared to be an offside position.
That missed call looked like it would doom Dortmund before Reus pulled the Germans even. Then, when Lewandowski floated a ball into the penalty area, with several Dortmund players appearing offside, the ball eventually felt to the feet of Santana, who powered it home.
Real Madrid had more trouble with Galatasaray than most thought they would, especially considering the fact Cristiano Ronaldo scored an eighth-minute goal to give Galatasaray a virtual five-goal difference to overcome. The Turkish club never stopped playing though, and rattled off three goals, including a brilliant Didier Drogba back-heel finish to pull the home team to within two goals. They got no closer though, as Ronaldo settled matters with a late finish.
Here are the match highlights:
BORUSSIA DORTMUND 3 (3), Malaga 2 (2)
Galatasaray 3 (3) REAL MADRID 2 (5)
What did you think of the matches? Impressed with Dortmund? Feel bad for Malaga? See Real Madrid as the favorites to win the whole thing? Who are you hoping Dortmund faces in the semifinals?
Share your thoughts below.